


Homework Help

by homicidalbrunette



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comedy, Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Gen, High School, One Shot, Post-Season 2, School, Slice of Life, el's first year of school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 12:15:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17981147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homicidalbrunette/pseuds/homicidalbrunette
Summary: “Are you sure this is how tutoring is supposed to work?” El asked from the living room couch. She was watching Ghostbusters.“Yeah, El, totally.”“I just watch the TV and you write everything?”“Yep!” Mike said, with utmost confidence in his voice. He’d tell El about cheating later. Now just wasn’t the time. They didn’t have time. The essay was due tomorrow and El needed an A. She had saved his life and rescued him from a freaking monster from another dimension and the least he could do for her was get her an A in English class. Right?----In which Mike does El's homework.





	Homework Help

Mike was nearly out the door when the shrill voice of old Mrs. Crumplebottom stopped him cold in his tracks.

“Michael Wheeler! I need a word with you before you go.” It wasn’t a request.

Damn. He really did think he was out of the woods, but of course he wasn’t. Why would he be? The universe never gave Mike Wheeler a break.

“You go on ahead.” He tried to give El an encouraging smile. He had been stoked when he realized they had English class together, El’s first English class _ever_ , and Mike could hardly wait because not only was English his favorite subject (something which he would never admit to Mr. Clarke, but well, he wasn’t the Party’s DM for nothing), but he would get to share it with El.

“I’ll catch up in a bit.”

She gave him a doubtful look but didn’t push the matter further, to his relief.

Maybe it wasn’t going to be about the essay. Maybe it was about how great he had done on the quiz last week, or maybe Mrs. Crumplebottom wanted him to help tutor _another_ kid or –

“It’s about the essay,” Mrs. Crumplebottom said, staring up at him over the tops of her glasses. “Close the door and have a seat.”

It took all of Mike’s willpower to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he shut the door to the now empty classroom and took the seat across from her desk.

“I’ll get right the point, young man.” Mrs. Crumplebottom was like a million years old and extra grouchy to boot. Whatever she was gong to say, Mike knew it wouldn’t be good. “Did you write El Hopper’s essay?”

“What? No!” Mike protested. “What??” he said, adding an extra what for good measure. Surely the extra commitment to bewilderment was convincing enough.

Mrs. Crumplebottom held up a piece of paper with El’s big loopy handwriting. “This is a sample of Ms. Hopper’s homework from last week: T _o Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. This book is about a little girl and a weird old man named Boo Radley. There is no mockingbird._ ”

She paused, looking over at him before continuing. “And this is what she turned in today: _To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story. Scout’s loss of innocence as she emerges into adolescence is an allegory of the American South’s loss of innocence as it grapples with racism in a post-Jim Crow era_.”

Mrs. Crumplebottom set the paper down and looked Mike dead in the eye.

Mike blinked back at her. “I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

-

Mike had been ready to go. He had all the supplies ready: he was bringing markers, color coded highlighters, sticky notes, and even a few well-worn copies of Cliff’s Notes on to Kill a Mockingbird.

He was determined. He was sure of it. El needed his help and English was his _thing_ and by the time he left, she was going to have an A-grade essay. He knew she needed it. She hadn’t been doing so well since school started, and especially not in English, but El wasn’t going to fail, not if he could do anything about it!

But they had been at it for over t _wo hours_ now. And well, he honestly thought they would spend like maybe, 30 minutes, an hour tops? And then she’d pick up on all his pointers and she’d do great and then they could watch Ghostbusters which had just come out on video but he had to be home in another hour and there was no way they’d even finish the movie now and –

“Mike. Mike!”

“Huh?” Mike blinked back at El, coming out of his thoughts and back into the room.

She looked tired. He figured the frustration in her eyes must’ve mirror his own, and he felt horrible about it. What was wrong with him? Why was he such a lousy tutor?

“I’m sorry. I’m a bad student.”

“No, El, no.” Mike sighed. “You’re not a bad student. This is literally your first English class and you’re doing great! I’m just…it’s just a stupid book, that’s all.”

El’s big brown eyes met his own and she frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“Okay how about….” Maybe a different tactic would do the trick. “How about you start out by talking about how Scout growing up is like an allegory for the South during segregation – ”

“Allegory?” El looked like she was testing the word out in her mouth, seeing how it felt. “What’s an a-allegory?”

“It’s kind of like a metaphor, or an analogy, or well –” Mike sighed again. “The difference between a metaphor and an analogy is really subtle but basically an allegory uses a narrative to express an idea –”

“Mike.”

“Yeah?”

“I….understand.” El looked at him out of the corner of her eyes ( _was she giving him the side-eye?_ ) and then started writing something on her paper. “To Kill A Mockingbird is about Scout becoming older, which is like what the South was going through in the 1930s….”

Well….it was good. It was a start, and it was El taking his suggestion and putting it into her own words, which was good! It was good, but…..but it could be better! What if she just….

“That’s great El! That’s real great! But what about instead of saying all _that_ you said _this_ instead…”

And that’s how Mike Wheeler found himself, 45 minutes later, sitting alone at El’s kitchen table furiously writing up the third page of her essay.

It was just better this way. It just was.

“Are you sure this is how tutoring is supposed to work?” El asked from the living room couch. She was watching Ghostbusters.

“Yeah, El, totally.”

“I just watch the TV and you write everything?”

“Yep!” Mike said, with utmost confidence in his voice. He’d tell El about cheating later. Now just wasn’t the time. They didn’t have time. The essay was due tomorrow and El needed an A. She had saved his life and rescued him from a freaking monster from another dimension and the least he could do for her was get her an A in English class. Right?

Yeah. He would sit her down later and explain to her that what he’d done wasn’t good and they wouldn’t be doing it again, but right now, well, he just really needed to put this final concluding paragraph together.

-

“This isn’t the first time you’ve plagiarized, Mike.” His mother’s sharp voice. It was the worst-case scenario.

Karen Wheeler and Chief of Police and El’s _dad_ Jim Hopper were sitting in his dining room. El was there too, and thankfully didn’t seem as upset as their parents were. She gave his hand a little squeeze under the table but kept her eyes downcast as the adults in the room went for his life.

“But that was me copying someone else!” Mike protested, remembering vaguely the time last year when he had plagiarized some other kids essay. And hadn’t they already punished him for that, making him get rid of Rory and other emotionally priceless keepsakes? Not fair. “This is literally the exact opposite of that!”

“That’s enough, Michael!” his mom was mad, balling her fists up on the table. “Chief, don’t you think this just sets a terrible example? Especially for El?”

Hop coughed, and then frowned. “Oh yeah, terrible. Terrible example. El is grounded for the rest of the month. Cheating doesn’t pay, alright kid?”

El nodded.

“And as for you Michael – we’re going to start with no TV for the rest of the week. And then we’re going to sit down and have a word with your father and we’ll see how long Ted wants to ground you for. I think at least the rest of the month is fair and on the table at this point.”

Mike couldn’t help it. He visibly rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Excuse me? You go see El and the Chief to the door and when you come back that attitude had better fix itself, young man.”

Hop grunted and pushed himself up from the table. Mike and El followed him in silence to the front door.

“Thanks for putting your foot down there, Karen,” Hop called back to his mom one last time. “These kids gotta learn, don’t they?”

Hop put on his coat and hat and then turned to Mike, slipping something inside his pocket. “Here kid,” he huffed under his breath, “That’s a twenty. Just use fewer syllables next time, alright?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Based on some school headcanons of mine. You think Mike Wheeler wouldn't ever offer to do his girlfriend's homework for her? He would. He totally would. 
> 
> And yes. Mrs. Crumplebottom is a crotchety old character from The Sims (I guess this fic is a Sims x ST crossover) 
> 
> If you read and like please give kudos and comments because I desperately need the attention.


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